some of Ivanpah's mirrors were misaligned. That means that the sunbeams were concentrated and focused on the wrong spot, causing electrical cables to catch fire.
Workers and firefighters were reportedly able to put out the blaze in about 20 minutes, but it left the plant with melted and scorched implements.

"Schaulust is a German word which describes the pleasure we feel in looking. This curiosity or scopophilia is a powerful pleasure and one that if not indulged in directly will leading to sublimation in another activity, often one remarkably similar to erotic voyeurism. The love of a military aircraft find its roots in the Purified Pleasure Ego, that facet of the ego that projects its own badness onto external objects. The spyplane, exemplified by the erotically supercharged SR-71 is an example of the hyper-sexualisation of the object (often bolstered by patriotism, itself a product of the Uber-Ich). Sitting at such a giddy vertex of powerful impulses makes the spyplane a powerful symbol. It is because of this that the spyplane occupies such a particularly potent appeal to the unconscious."

11
Stella has it figured out. Reminds me of my Bella. If there is reincarnation I want to come back as a dog with me as it's owner. I'm ridiculous as a mom to a dog. I fluff her pillows at night, I walk her 4 miles a day and when we grill I always make her the same thing we are getting.

Posted by: Molly k at May 20, 2016 10:10 PM (R33tx)

12
Angry Birds Movie, too many adult jokes, environmentalism, SJW whining and a coexist bumper sticker. That is all. Kids movie is not a kid movie.

And as for the drunken cities, obviously they haven't been down to the Rio Grande Valley cities.

Posted by: auscolpyr at May 20, 2016 10:10 PM (Ht/4p)

13But at least they've successfully used their atomic powered death ray to slaughter thousands of birds mid-flight...They call it the "Avian assisted meteorite simulator."

2111
Stella has it figured out. Reminds me of my Bella. If there is
reincarnation I want to come back as a dog with me as it's owner. I'm
ridiculous as a mom to a dog. I fluff her pillows at night, I walk her 4
miles a day and when we grill I always make her the same thing we are
getting.

Posted by: Molly k at May 20, 2016 10:10 PM (R33tx)

We say the same thing about our two kitties. They have the life.

However, they're getting old now with health issues. They'll live out their days in comfort, and when things begin to get tough, the vet will come to the house and they'll die in our arms.

Dammit. *getting dusty*

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:14 PM (1ZOkK)

22
I shall spend my remaining days scaring myself out of sleep with YouTube videos. I kind of think that cackling noise is Big Brother, who really moved in very subtly.

In order to facilitate companies that slaughter endangered birds with "eagle blenders" (and also dabble in "green energy"), the Obama administration is allowing even more endangered birds to be wantonly slaughtered.

Nah. Hilldawg would be one of those hairless crested Chinese whatever dogs.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:16 PM (1ZOkK)

28Yikes! There's a coyote 10 feet from my window. It's doing a bunch of stretches - front legs/back legs, now scratching. Watched it for about 5 minutes and now it wandered away. There's a little dog next door but he's behind a fence so he shd be safe.

34
Spinning the new John Carpenter album, and it just feels like you're watching one of his movies.

Theater of the mind, or whatever.

Posted by: Chupacabra at May 20, 2016 10:18 PM (Lv0zB)

35
Yikes! There's a coyote 10 feet from my window. It's doing a bunch of stretches - front legs/back legs, now scratching. Watched it for about 5 minutes and now it wandered away. There's a little dog next door but he's behind a fence so he shd be safe.

36
I saw a coyote for the first time today, running through the backyard of our development. I think the problem is there is a lot of development being done, and cities don't want to deal with the issues of the animals getting displaced. West side suburbs of Cleveland is no place for coyotes.

38
We LOVE small pets that are 20 pounds or less.
Let them out for the night or to go "tinkle". Me and my friends will be waiting.

Posted by: Agile Coyote at May 20, 2016 10:20 PM (hVdx9)

39
However, they're getting old now with health issues. They'll live out their days in comfort, and when things begin to get tough, the vet will come to the house and they'll die in our arms.

Dammit. *getting dusty*

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:14 PM (1ZOkK)

.............

My eyes are dusty too,..... I have thought about this. Our first dog died getting run over. It was just done and over. This one who knows but if I have to put her down someday I don't think I could watch the vet do it. I'm a hospice nurse and hold hands with dying people all the time. My pet is different

44
35 Yikes! There's a coyote 10 feet from my window. It's doing a bunch of stretches - front legs/back legs, now scratching. Watched it for about 5 minutes and now it wandered away. There's a little dog next door but he's behind a fence so he shd be safe.

48
In an incredible turn of events, the Shit Midas touch has confirmed to still be in effect. The great irony is that the business taking it in the gut is getting bulldozed (literally) by uber progressives.

While visiting Asheville, NC, Obama had barbecue from 12 Bones, a local barbecue restaurant. Last week, the city of Asheville announced that the property would be taken by imminent domain in order to make access to 'The Arts District' easier.

Because after all, your betters really know what's best for you, for your state, for your country, but most of all what's best for themselves!

Posted by: Hrothgar at May 20, 2016 10:25 PM (wYnyS)

57
Isn't that barbeque restaurant incredibly popular? Like wait in line for hours popular? If I was an owner of that restaurant, I'd take my restaurant elsewhere, maybe close by, and let my customers know where I was going.

There's a cattle farm a few miles away, and I spotted a little donkey in with the cows and calves.

A friend told me a donkey will stomp the hell out of a coyote or marauding dog.

Learn something every day.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:21 PM (1ZOkK)

The first CPA partnership I worked for, they had an Associate CPA who they hoped would eventually join the partnership. He had a good-sized advertising poster hung on his wall, black and white, with a guy in a hat and trenchcoat standing under a streetlight in the fog. The caption read: "Accountancy was my life....until I discovered Smirnoff."

Posted by: cthulhu at May 20, 2016 10:27 PM (EzgxV)

67
Isn't that barbeque restaurant incredibly popular? Like wait in line for hours popular? If I was an owner of that restaurant, I'd take my restaurant elsewhere, maybe close by, and let my customers know where I was going.
Posted by: Barb the Evil Genius
--------------

Yes. But... it's for the arts.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at May 20, 2016 10:27 PM (yddCj)

68
No coyotes any more. Think the freeway and development make the pocket canyons and hillsides here insufficient sources of food for them.

Last one I saw, I saw 3 times over course of a year (sure it was the same one). Thing must have been feasting on the outdoor pet food of idiot owners - coyotes are kind of the sad homeless of the small varmint work, usually mangy and awful looking, this little guy had a beautiful coat.

Coyotes, roadrunners, snakes - three indigenous critters that abounded in my yute, but now are absent. Unfortunately rats, skunks, raccoons, and possum remain.

Posted by: rhomboid at May 20, 2016 10:28 PM (QDnY+)

69While visiting Asheville, NC, Obama had barbecue
from 12 Bones, a local barbecue restaurant. Last week, the city of
Asheville announced that the property would be taken by imminent domain
in order to make access to 'The Arts District' easier.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at May 20, 2016 10:23 PM (yddCj)

Shit Midas strikes again. Hasn't Asheville become Hipster Central? I haven't visited in a while, but we used to go up once every couple of years.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:28 PM (1ZOkK)

70
There was a story here in AZ where a couple lost 2 out of their 3 beloved shih-Tzu's to coyotes in in a night.
They went out thru their doggy door to go potty and only one made it back inside alive.

There's a cattle farm a few miles away, and I spotted a little donkey in with the cows and calves.

A friend told me a donkey will stomp the hell out of a coyote or marauding dog.

Learn something every day.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:21 PM (1ZOkK)

The first CPA partnership I worked for, they had an Associate CPA who they hoped would eventually join the partnership. He had a good-sized advertising poster hung on his wall, black and white, with a guy in a hat and trenchcoat standing under a streetlight in the fog. The caption read: "Accountancy was my life....until I discovered Smirnoff."

Posted by: cthulhu at May 20, 2016 10:27 PM (EzgxV)

Pulled the wrong comment to quote.....I think I need to drink more.

Posted by: cthulhu at May 20, 2016 10:29 PM (EzgxV)

76
>>I saw a coyote for the first time today, running through the backyard of our development.

If you see a coyote during daylight hours you have way too many coyotes running around.

Most of drunk cities are in mid west are with high Catholic population, left over from French settlements and in WI dirty scandis

Most of the dry cities are in the South, Baptist with Scotch settlers, only exception it UT with the Mormons.

Posted by: Nip Sip at May 20, 2016 10:31 PM (jJRIy)

82
I grew up on a ranch in the badlands. We would lose cattle often and the coyotes were know to come feed on them. I would tag along with my brother and his gun because it was like shooting fish in a barrel. I couldn't count how many we dragged home to skin and sell.

Posted by: Molly k at May 20, 2016 10:31 PM (R33tx)

83Yup. Ultra Progressive. Our new Chieftess of Police has a 'wife'. I have no idea which bathroom they use.

They say that people are rarely more than 25 feet from a rat in most urban/suburban environments.....

Posted by: cthulhu at May 20, 2016 10:32 PM (EzgxV)

90
Earlier this year, Momma coyote had a litter in the woods behind the house. She would bring home dinner and the kits would start yelping, then every dog in the neighborhood would go nuts. Usually at 2AM or so.

My plan for High Velocity domination of near human battlespace goes on...

SFW Raccoon pic

Posted by: sven10077 at May 20, 2016 10:34 PM (g8Hfr)

94They say that people are rarely more than 25 feet from a rat in most urban/suburban environments.....

*shifty-eyes*

Posted by: Hillary voter at May 20, 2016 10:34 PM (PtkC+)

95
There was a pack of coyotes at Ft. Pulaski a few years ago, and a ranger spotted them hunting in a pack (which is supposed to be unusual). They were after a small herd of deer.

Someone freaked out and scared the deer off so the coyotes wouldn't eat Bambi (even though we're neck deep in deer here, and pay shooters to take them out).

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:34 PM (1ZOkK)

96
I have a friend that baits an area under a pole-mounted security lamp. He actually has a bench set up about 75 yds. away. Uses a .270

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at May 20, 2016 10:35 PM (yddCj)

97
I'm worried about the coyote problem, garrett, but our area doesn't do anything about the extreme overpopulation of deer or geese that we have. Other than get worked into a froth over evil men with guns or bows being brought in to take out some of these animals. Who will otherwise starve to death or die on the front bumper of a minivan.

131
Well, imagine that. You are stereotyping. Who ever woulda thought that would happen?

Posted by: ManWithNoParty at May 20, 2016 10:35 PM (YLidQ)

History isn't a stereo type. The French settled most of the Midwest, remember the LA purchase? French are Catholic, AKA, their settlements are still Catholic. Catholic's drinkThe South was English and Scotch-Irish . Mostly Church of England and hard drinkers, but the Southern Baptists sweep through the South after the War of Northern Aggression and converted fine drinking men into, well Baptist.

It's a shame it is.

Posted by: Nip Sip at May 20, 2016 10:42 PM (jJRIy)

132
Wait, 15 drinks per day week is a "heavy drinker"? I consider that to be drying out.
Posted by: DC in River City, Team Mattis at May 20, 2016 10:39 PM (e+1S5)

140
137 I'm thinking about taking my 17 year old son to Chicago to see the museum of science and industry, aquarium, filed museum, etc. What else should I check out?
Posted by: Alphabaker at May 20, 2016 10:43 PM (s+gIW)

Posted by: DC in River City, Team Mattis at May 20, 2016 10:46 PM (e+1S5)

151
Anybody here had the misfortune of catching an episode of "Bordertown" on Fox?

Gustavo Arellano was one of the writers. He's still pimping it at OCWeekly even though it's already been canceled.

Posted by: qdpsteve at May 20, 2016 10:46 PM (ntObR)

152137
I'm thinking about taking my 17 year old son to Chicago to see the
museum of science and industry, aquarium, filed museum, etc. What else
should I check out?

Posted by: Alphabaker at May 20, 2016 10:43 PM (s+gIW)

We lived there for six years, and belonged to the Field Museum, Aquarium, and Brookfield Zoo.

Every opportunity I took our son to the Field (where my folks took me as a kid once, and is cool and creepy as hell), and the zoo. The aquarium was also great. But I still have a thing for the spooky Field Museum. All those old, stuffed animals, the long, dark corridors, the Egyptian mummies....dang I miss it!

174
137 I'm thinking about taking my 17 year old son to Chicago to see the museum of science and industry, aquarium, filed museum, etc. What else should I check out?

Posted by: Alphabaker at May 20, 2016 10:43 PM (s+gIW)

Tickets elsewhere.

Posted by: cthulhu at May 20, 2016 10:57 PM (EzgxV)

175
So husband and I are embarking on a new adventure. We live and work in Eastern WA and are getting land as an early inheritance from MIL and are building a house on it for her to live in for seven or so years until we retire and move there, to be close to our families. So the house won't be new anymore, ah well. The worst part is having to live in western WA again. I love it there, except for you know what. And the traffic!

Posted by: Kalneva at May 20, 2016 10:57 PM (Thfz7)

176
That poor cop shot in Phoenix died. He was responding to a DV call.

When they were finally killed, they discovered a cave where those bastards had stashed the carcasses/bones of their victims. They were like feline serial killers. When you see them in the Field, you're like, "WTF?? Those two little guys??" It's weird. But they killed over 100 railroad workers and were ballsy enough to come into armed camps and drag people off.

I visited Chicago once. Flew into O'Hare, changed planes, flew right back out.

It was a nice visit.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at May 20, 2016 10:59 PM (9ym/8)

179Yeah, but they're the pussiest looking maneaters evah. They are small and maneless and just...weird. Watch "The Ghost and the Darkness" and check them out.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:54 PM (1ZOkK)

True. But after being turned into rugs for decades before the Field got them, the taxidermists didn't have much to work with.

The old photos taken just after each one was killed show them looking MUCH larger.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 20, 2016 10:59 PM (LuZz8)

180
Alphabaker: In Chi-town do Oriental Institute and Hayden Planetarium.

Posted by: sinmi at May 20, 2016 11:02 PM (phVEj)

181True. But after being turned into rugs for decades before the Field got them, the taxidermists didn't have much to work with.

The old photos taken just after each one was killed show them looking MUCH larger.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 20, 2016 10:59 PM (LuZz

Well, that's good to know. We talked with a ranger in Africa about them, and he said they had some genetic mutation that made them maneless and no pride would accept them. Perhaps they were trannies. Who knows.

186
181 True. But after being turned into rugs for decades before the Field got them, the taxidermists didn't have much to work with.

The old photos taken just after each one was killed show them looking MUCH larger.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 20, 2016 10:59 PM (LuZz

Well, that's good to know. We talked with a ranger in Africa about them, and he said they had some genetic mutation that made them maneless and no pride would accept them. Perhaps they were trannies. Who knows.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 11:02 PM (1ZOkK)

It was all from the shame of having to use the wrong bathrooms....

Posted by: cthulhu at May 20, 2016 11:04 PM (EzgxV)

187
You could drop by Rahm's place and tell him what an awesome job he's doing.

191When they were finally killed, they discovered a cave where those bastards had stashed the carcasses/bones of their victims. They were like feline serial killers. When you see them in the Field, you're like, "WTF?? Those two little guys??" It's weird. But they killed over 100 railroad workers and were ballsy enough to come into armed camps and drag people off.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 10:59 PM (1ZOkK)

Part of what made them so fucking scary is that they were SMART kittehs. One of the stories (probably exaggerated, and apocryphal) was that the Brits trying to kill them realized they were keying on blood, mostly from the rudimentary hospital in the main camp. So they moved the hospital to another building, and set up an ambush in the old, blood-reeking hospital.

The ambush failed the first night, when they heard screams from the new hospital as the lions had a field day killing the unguarded patients.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 20, 2016 11:05 PM (LuZz8)

192
They must have picked some ringers for that Korean video. I spent close to 7 years there in the 90's and I can attest first hand that quite a few of them drink. A bottle of Chivas that went for less than $30 would sell for $75 downtown. They also have their own brand of assorted liquors called Captain Q. I'd say it was on a par with Value Rite. My personal favorite was Captain Q Rum!! Cheap buzz and you could buy it 24/7.

Well, newspapers are hurting if that's any consolation. I'm sure the observer is like the Ft. Worth paper. Used to be a large format, high content, locally written piece. Now, it's tiny, full of syndicated news. It's sorta pathetic.

208
Well, newspapers are hurting if that's any consolation. I'm sure the observer is like the Ft. Worth paper. Used to be a large format, high content, locally written piece. Now, it's tiny, full of syndicated news. It's sorta pathetic.
Posted by: Ricardo Kill
---------------

Funny you should cite that fact. I have a wee touch of arachnophobia, and every now and then I wonder how far I am from the nearest tarantula.

Posted by: iforgot at May 20, 2016 11:16 PM (5o5ek)

211
Well, we managed to have a meeting with my mother's doctor up there at the "geriatric unit". It's not good news. There are no signs of dementia or cognitive decline that they can discern. It's just very, very serious and deep depression with some paranoia.

She wasn't wanting to eat today, and I couldn't even get her to eat spoon feeding her. She'd just spit it back out in a napkin, saying she was full.

They are trying some drugs, some powerful psychoactive ones -- I didn't ask details -- don't want to start looking up them up and seeing all the awful side effects that are possible.

But this depression is so deep, they aren't hopeful the drugs are going to work. They're going to give them time, but I could tell that weren't optimistic. And so that means more drastic "treatments".

They mentioned what that "treatment" is, trying to sugar coat it. At this stage, it's an over my dead body thing will they do that to my mother. But I'm reading about it.

If she's gets to where she's not going to eat, then she's going to just about kill herself anyway. Force feeding? Don't even want to think about.

I'm going to have to some very tough decisions to make in the next few weeks, I suppose. And I ain't qualified for shit to make them. There's going to be some second and third and maybe fourth opinions brought in before I'm going to commit to anything drastic.

Promises to keep, miles to go before I sleep, keeps coming to mind. I know the various supposed meaning of that Frost poem, but those lines somehow mean something a little different than they say.

212
I'm thinking about taking my 17 year old son to Chicago to see the museum of science and industry, aquarium, filed museum, etc. What else should I check out?
Posted by: Alphabaker at May 20, 2016 10:43 PM (s+gIW)

you should check out something besides chicago

Posted by: yankeefifth at May 20, 2016 11:17 PM (vb33c)

213
Heh. Dog's snoring in her bed, cat's curled up on the sofa. I have to go scoop the litter.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at May 20, 2016 11:17 PM (yddCj)

214
I'm thinking about taking my 17 year old son to Chicago to see the museum of science and industry, aquarium, filed museum, etc. What else should I check out?

Posted by: Alphabaker at May 20, 2016 10:43 PM (s+gIW)

Do everything while it's daylight. Because just like a vampire movie you want to be off the streets before the sun goes down

Posted by: TheQuietMan at May 20, 2016 11:18 PM (45oDG)

215
Off to bed too. For some reason I signed up for a 7:15am Bible Study Saturday mornings after my one day off of the week. Clearly didn't think that one through.

'Night all.

Posted by: Blano at May 20, 2016 11:18 PM (lbcdD)

216
"'m going to have to some very tough decisions to make in the next few weeks, I suppose. And I ain't qualified for shit to make them."

Feel you, Publius, dealing with an older and declining parent. It is hard, new ground to try to cover.

We decided to take dad's keys away last week. That shit HAS NOT gone over well at all.

Been thinking about you and wish I had something to say that would make things better.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 20, 2016 11:20 PM (YHcVd)

219
so when we are taking apart the pyramids, probably right after, we should swing by and get those flooded statues up too.

Posted by: yankeefifth at May 20, 2016 11:21 PM (vb33c)

220
I still believe the scariest part of the Field Museum is the Egyptian section. And if anyone here has ever read "Relic" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, well, it's kind of like that vibe.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at May 20, 2016 11:11 PM (1ZOkK)

One of the very funny Archy and Mehitabel stories by Don Marquis concerns an Egyptian mummy, brought to the USA, who comes to life, only to be told that Prohibition is in force, and thereupon falls into a heap of dust.

Damn, publius, just damn. I can read between the lines, I think. If the depression has no known organic cause, perhaps it will simply disappear as time passes? Seems to be a not-that-rare consequence of major surgery. Remember Captain Whitebread's travails after his heart surgery?

The absolute minimum safety controller would not allow the mirror declination angle to fall below the target. Must have been done on purpose.

Posted by: RokShox at May 20, 2016 11:30 PM (NAxbF)

241
I have struck a city - a real city - and they call it Chicago. The other places don't count. Having seen it, I urgently desire to never see it again. It is inhabited by savages.

-- Rudyard Kipling

Posted by: Ozwerd Heredolpher at May 20, 2016 11:24 PM (c+z1/)

Kipling had a way with words. He described Medicine Hat, Alberta, as "the city with all Hell for a basement" upon visiting there and learning that it was lit and heated by natural gas from wells drilled within the town. (natural gas then being a rare curiosity in the marketplace)

248
The thing that gets me is how quickly it came on. I think it was something about the knee replacement surgery, the anesthesia and/or the massive inflammation thing (that can affect the brain in the elderly that is a bigger risk than they've realized).

She was doing so well, and I figured she would get a new lease on life, and be able to putter around better like she wanted to. Rehab went well and when she got home, she was doing great.

But then, close to week after she got home, I began to notice something was wrong. She had this worried look on her face and she was getting sort of withdrawn. Several of her friends had called and come over to see her over that period, and they all remarked later, when we knew something was serious, that they knew something wasn't right with her. One of her friends even stated the woman she just talked to wasn't her friend.

And then that night, May 5th, two days before her 86th birthday, I finally just forced her to tell me what was wrong, what was bothering her. My jaw dropped at the response. It was irrational nonsense. She was full of terrible guilt for things she had imagined she'd done. "I've lied to you [publius]", she exclaimed. Nope, she hadn't. Didn't happen.

And that was the start of the descent into, well, madness, where she is today. I didn't sleep for over 48 hours for one stretch until I got her to her GP and he prescribed some Ativan to cool her circuits. He didn't realize how serious it was (can't blame him, this is not their bailiwick ). It was like pulling teeth to get her in to someone who knew what they were doing.

And when I did, they realized immediately how serious it was, and it was time for hospitalization. And here were are, 5 days later.

251
Alphabaker, if you're still here, seems like the others have it covered.

You're going to Science and Industry, I assume at least in part to see U-505? Well worth it. Very well done display.

If you're flying into O'Hare, in Terminal 2 there's a small memorial to Butch O'Hare, the eponymous WWII Navy fighter pilot, with a Wildcat (well, the shell) mounted on it. The "Information" desk located not more than 100 yards away, around a slight bend in the concourse, did not know where the little memorial was when I looked for it in 2007!

Those are your WWII historical tips (well, Navy Pier, too. Knew several old vets who attended events there during/after basic training at Great Lakes in WWII, one who was the first fight on an evening of boxing that ended with a "smoker" and a Glenn Miller big band concert.

Posted by: rhomboid at May 20, 2016 11:35 PM (QDnY+)

252
True dat, skookum and Alberta! I know I've asked before, skook, how you got that name, but I forgot. Refresh?

Well, what I mean with that is that hard decisions and tasks are going to have to be undertaken. I just like to run away and pretend it wasn't happening. But, no, "I have promises to keep". That means duty, honor, and all that. There's a bond between mother and son, and it goes both ways. That's the promises I must keep.

And the miles to go before I sleep is the long row to hoe, the difficult thanks that must be done.

258
@237, go COUGS!! I left Pullman to so cal for work and have been here for over ten years now, but still miss eastern WA. Especially the winters - I know - but I love the seasons and we have none of that here.

Well, what I mean with that is that
hard decisions and tasks are going to have to be undertaken. I just like
to run away and pretend it wasn't happening. But, no, "I have promises
to keep". That means duty, honor, and all that. There's a bond between
mother and son, and it goes both ways. That's the promises I must keep.

And the miles to go before I sleep is the long row to hoe, the difficult thanks that must be done.

262
t-bird, the winters aren't even cold! Never gets below 30, hardly. Must be that climate chaos that keeps me from getting all cozy. I wish it got cold. But maybe I better be thankful, huh? My HVAC privilege talking.

265
The changes in coyotes in the LA/Ventura region in my lifetime has made me wonder about the pace of evolution, latent genes, and interbreeding.

When I was a kid they were small, about Border Collie size and very shy. Nowadays, they get much larger and think nothing of walking right down the sidewalk, not even flinching when a car pulls up to park and catches them full on in the headlights. A nearby Walmart is very close to the edge of development in that area as what remains untouched is too hilly to be of much use. The coyotes venture out of there and hang out on a grassy slope at one corner of the Walmart parking lot. You might think they were dogs waiting for their humans to come out of the store and walk home with them. The passing traffic on the driveway mere yards away doesn't bother them at all.

Posted by: Epobirs at May 20, 2016 11:43 PM (IdCqF)

266
This is really interesting IMHO. Dean Esmay is an FB and Twitter friend of mine, who I discovered at AVoiceForMen.com. Turns out he's also a recovering angry atheist, now a Christian, who's got a blog of his own and is challenging the angry atheists.

Anyway, it turns out that while Penn Jillette has in the past been a complete dick, it looks like he may be growing a conscience. Note Penn's response to the people he thought were friends, celebrating Antonin Scalia's death.

272Alphabaker: In Chi-town do Oriental Institute and Hayden Planetarium.

Posted by: sinmi at May 20, 2016 11:02 PM (phVEj)

That will be kind of hard, since the Hayden Planetarium is in New York. You probably mean the Adler, in which case you should also look in at the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. The Art Institute is also fairly close.

The mention of it was, well, seizure inducing in me. That's what it is. An electric current of certain pattern is sent through the brain which induces a huge seizure. In the old days, that was torture and sadistic.

Now, they put them under anesthesia so the body's muscles don't just go into massive convulsions and all that.

But it's well. They say it has a better than 50% success rate with intractable depression. And it is only used in the most severe cases. And it looks my mother's is falling into the "very severe" category. It's not time to make that decision yet, they will give the drugs time to work, but they're not optimistic.

286
I've been anecdotally told of someone who received electroshock therapy for severe clinical depression, which remitted after the treatment, but who had permanent amnesiac deficits afterward.

Perhaps part of why this works is that you don't remember any longer what it was that had been setting off depressive spirals.

I don't follow the professional literature on that stuff, but I have also seen blurbs on the mainstream press medical news about various scheduled drugs of abuse (ketamine and psilocybin) being used to good effect in depression. Hopefully without the forgetfulness. As for actually being able to find a doctor who can use these methods without losing their license? Best of luck.

293
Well, it's not going to be done unless she's basically starving herself to death and/or attempts something drastic and she's in a state equivalent to or worse than death.

I will be attempting to get some more experts in on her case. My father has some favors with some big shots he can call in. Well, big shots relative to us rednecks here in SC. If there's any of those say ketamine treatments, which I have heard about, are somehow available, one of those favors might lead to that. If there's ever a time to call in some favors, this is it.

298
Gosh, I hope I haven't bummed everyone out with all the above heavy shit I was laying down. I think I'm going to put it all out of my mind for tonight and try to some silliness and, well, "other things" (his dirty mind lasciviously grins).

299
Back in the day Playboy had a rating of the top party schools in the USA. There was always an asterisk in the list for UW-Madison stating that the school was not included in the ratings because it would be unfair to include professionals with amateurs.

302
" I hope I haven't bummed everyone out with all the above heavy shit I was laying down. "

Not at all. Like I said above, many of us are dealing with it. It's a weird, winding path that we just never imagined. It'll wipe you out but you realize you're the only one who can make anything better in the situation and so it goes.

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at May 21, 2016 12:25 AM (9ym/8)

303
277 Publius, ECT has been making a major comeback the last several years.

I've read it has thankfully advanced quite a bit since the bad old "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" days, the charges are much less powerful, and more focused on specific parts of the brain.

Still, it has that old icky reputation and I can't blame people about that. It was overused and abused by psych professionals for such a long time, I'm amazed it ever came back.

Posted by: qdpsteve at May 20, 2016 11:54 PM (ntObR) 277 Publius, ECT has been making a major comeback the last several years.

I've read it has thankfully advanced quite a bit since the bad old "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" days, the charges are much less powerful, and more focused on specific parts of the brain.

Still, it has that old icky reputation and I can't blame people about that. It was overused and abused by psych professionals for such a long time, I'm amazed it ever came back.

Posted by: qdpsteve at May 20, 2016 11:54 PM (ntObR)

It came back because when bad thoughts are wearing a deep groove in the tracks of your thinking, bumping out of the groove can be helpful -- even if it makes a bad noise and is painful.

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 12:25 AM (EzgxV)

304Holy carp, Hillary in 2008 raving about the wonderful activists against Jim Crow, the women who pushed for the women's vote. They were REPUBLICANS, bitch.

Posted by: iforgot at May 21, 2016 12:26 AM (5o5ek)

305
The best party schools are the ones that avg. at least 6 feet of snow per winter. What the fuck else is there to do?

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at May 21, 2016 12:27 AM (89T5c)

306
Holy carp, Hillary in 2008 raving about the wonderful activists against Jim Crow, the women who pushed for the women's vote. They were REPUBLICANS, bitch.
Posted by: iforgot
-------------

La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Posted by: SJW with fingers in ears at May 21, 2016 12:28 AM (jO7js)

307
299 Back in the day Playboy had a rating of the top party schools in the USA. There was always an asterisk in the list for UW-Madison stating that the school was not included in the ratings because it would be unfair to include professionals with amateurs.

Firstly, they should combine Appleton, Oshkosh, Neenah, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, and Sheboygan into one area. They are all in the Green Bay local TV market with a total population around 300-400K. Same goes for Milwaukee with Racine/Janesville as basically bedroom communities.

Secondly, Wisconsinites are proud of their reputation as hearty drinkers, and will either not be shy or outright exaggerate about their binge drinking prowess.

Interesting note: Brandy Old Fashioned's are the unofficial state cocktail.I took a tour of the Korbel winery while vacationing in wine country about 10 years ago, and upon learning that our group was from Wisconsin, they informed us that we were very special to them since Wisconsin alone consumes an entire third of their brandy output. Impressive, no?

Posted by: gshocker at May 21, 2016 12:34 AM (A6UBX)

313
Sure Ricardo, but I'm not sure that hair that induces nausea in people who view it is an asset.

315
Okay, just flicked on the TV a little bit ago. Jimmy Falllon was on and he was interviewing actress Beanie Feldstein.

Now it's gone to Seth Meyers. Who the fcuk is Seth Meyers?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at May 21, 2016 12:39 AM (9ym/8)

316
Now that I am not at work, I get to speak freely.
The leftwing sh*theads where I work DEMAND we have CNN on in the lunch room. If someone puts on Fox, they make them turn it.
Anyway they had some bitch from the CBC ranting and raving about how Trump lied about Hillary wanting to do away with the 2nd amend. Touted Politifact calling what he said as a lie as proof she was right.
The lousy twat tried to monopolize the talk time and when the GOP had the balls to try and stop that, she talked over him, then whined he was trying to bully her.

320Trump lied about Hillary wanting to do away with the 2nd amend.
-----------------------

Teh Donald is not big on qualifiers. Hillary EFFECTIVELY wants to abolish the 2nd Amendment. She doesn't mean to amend the Constitution as that's too difficult, but if she had her way, every American would be unarmed except for those guarding her coterie.

I wouldn't normally care because I don't judge people on appearance that they cant help, but he does, so fuck him.

Also, he can help the way he does his hair. Any straight man who spends that much time on his hair is an effeminate narcissist. Just think of the men you've ever met with hair like that. All the normal men would make fun of them, with good reason.

Sorry to be so sour. Wishing strength for all y'all dealing with aging parents.

Her maintenance contract is making some taxidermist very, very wealthy.

Posted by: t-bird at May 21, 2016 12:48 AM (J3phO)

326When I was a kid (coyotes) were small, about Border Collie size and very shy. Nowadays, they get much larger and think nothing of walking right down the sidewalk, not even flinching when a car pulls up to park and catches them full on in the headlights.

That's the behavior of an animal that's at the top of the food chain, and knows it. Import some mountain lions and they'll get shy again.

Posted by: mikeski at May 21, 2016 12:51 AM (A8RoD)

327
Publius,
I guarantee that I'm not the only one following your saga from the sidelines.
I don't comment because I don't know what to say. And I'm a bit scared...

I have and will continue to pray for you and yours.

Posted by: Chi at May 21, 2016 12:51 AM (ewTXf)

328
315 Okay, just flicked on the TV a little bit ago. Jimmy Falllon was on and he was interviewing actress Beanie Feldstein.

Now it's gone to Seth Meyers. Who the fcuk is Seth Meyers?

Posted by: Ricardo Kill at May 21, 2016 12:39 AM (9ym/

Wasn't Seth Meyers the guy who was nice to Breitbart's kid? Total progressive statist douchebag, but did a call with voices and impressions to the son of someone he vehemently disagreed with on a TV program?

331
Teh Donald is not big on qualifiers. Hillary EFFECTIVELY wants to abolish the 2nd Amendment. She doesn't mean to amend the Constitution as that's too difficult, but if she had her way, every American would be unarmed except for those guarding her coterie.

Posted by: iforgot
****

There were a few other people in the room with me and it was all I could do not blurt out, "bullshit!"
The GOP guy was not aggressive enough (surprise).
The left, especially the CBC (a racist organization) has no problem lying to push their agenda.

335
Thanks to all concerned and praying about it all that. It is appreciated, greatly. Locally, with friends and family, my mental account book has been making a few debt entries. They will be remembered and repaid when the opportunity arises.

337
326 When I was a kid (coyotes) were small, about Border Collie size and very shy. Nowadays, they get much larger and think nothing of walking right down the sidewalk, not even flinching when a car pulls up to park and catches them full on in the headlights.

That's the behavior of an animal that's at the top of the food chain, and knows it. Import some mountain lions and they'll get shy again.

Posted by: mikeski at May 21, 2016 12:51 AM (A8RoD)

++++

There was a time that human beings would assert themselves as the top of the food chain instead of importing some other predator that will just end up preying on their children and pets.

Yup. When I was a wee bairn, the men in the tiny farming town we lived in got together a mountain-lion hunt when one was spotted in the area. Now, I assume they'd wait for someone "official" with a tranq gun to come in and move it elsewhere.

Posted by: mikeski at May 21, 2016 01:04 AM (A8RoD)

341
Is this founded in some facts... Is Hillary a lush? Why is this a recurring theme.

345
When I was a kid (coyotes) were small, about Border Collie size and
very shy. Nowadays, they get much larger and think nothing of walking
right down the sidewalk, not even flinching when a car pulls up to park
and catches them full on in the headlights.)))

Up through the 1970s fur had value. Coyotes weren't valuable but they were competition. People talk about hunting deer is down. It's even lower for all the nuisance animals. The main predator that has been lacking has been man or teen boys with 22s that could get paid.

361
348 We have more coyotes, wolves, and, bears than we've had in a century.

You mean they're no fun and don't laugh, talk and play banjo like I saw back at the Country Bear Jamboree?!? Disneyland lied to me again!!

Posted by: qdpsteve at May 21, 2016 01:16 AM (ntObR)

Incidentally, "America Sings" (in the Carousel of Progress) had a lot more twisted, odd "history" to it. The great majority of the mechanisms found their way to Splash Mountain (though the baggage inspector in Star Tours is one).

Governor Perry did, in Austin, with his CHL.---this is #Failifornia, and Governor Moonbeam has a security staff, not a CHL.

Posted by: redc1c4 at May 21, 2016 01:30 AM (GnCxR)

364
I grew up on a ranch in the badlands. We would lose cattle often and the coyotes were know to come feed on them. I would tag along with my brother and his gun because it was like shooting fish in a barrel. I couldn't count how many we dragged home to skin and sell.
Posted by: Molly k at May 20, 2016 10:31 PM

I kinda like this Molly chick, even if she agrees w. my wife that I'm drunk.

Ricardo, you're destroying my childhood. I have to run over and talk to Snow White about this!!

...what? Whaddaya mean she's just some bimbo actress in a big costume?!?!?...

Posted by: qdpsteve at May 21, 2016 01:26 AM (ntObR)

Saving it? How about living it?

Well, he's big around the middle and he's broad across the rump
Runnin' ninety miles an hour takin' forty feet a jump
Ain't never been cornered, ain't never been treed
Some folks say he's a lot like me.

372
371 cthulhu, yikes. Someone at Disney had a strange sense of humor...

Posted by: qdpsteve at May 21, 2016 01:44 AM (ntObR)

That could refer to a number of my prior comments.....which one piqued your interest?

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 01:45 AM (EzgxV)

373
Back from burn barrel adventure. No casualties. Fire is now dwindled down to quite small, and rain has increased, so I came in. Will make one more inspection trip outside before retiring for the night.

Probably a good thing the CBJ isn't still around. Who wants to hear their rendition of "Transgender Bathroom Blues"??

Posted by: qdpsteve at May 21, 2016 01:46 AM (ntObR)

The CBJ is still going in Florida....and if you know when to look over your shoulder in Winnie-the-Pooh in California [heading into heffalumps and woozles], you can still see the mounted heads from CBJ.

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 01:49 AM (EzgxV)

378
Well I went down to Wal-mart
Sud'ly had to pee
How was I to know there was
a tranny next to me?!?

I got the transgender bathroom blues,
don't know what to do.
Who wants to deal with all this crap
when you gotta go poo-poo??

384
Home, where the owls hoot and the frogs croak and the deer and the cantaloupe play.

Farmer: Working during college we took off to go up to S. Beloit to have beers from 12 till 2 am because they we open so late.

The "best" pizza place was across the state line in S. Beloit. That's where my frat bros insisted I couldn't keep drinking Dr Pepper and had to share in the pitcher of beer. I was a good boy until then. (Well, didn't drink, anyway.)

Funny thing was, I was under 21. In Beloit, in those days, I was legal to drink. In S Beloit, I was breaking the law. Not that anybody ever checked.

Often pondered, if I stood astride the state line, with a beer in the 18yo-state hand, would I be breaking the law? And pondered the arbitrariness of age limits.

387
America sings -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtP5bMoSfRg -- yeah, like this would fly today. This was back when they could make "Blazing Saddles".

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 01:59 AM (EzgxV)

388
It still smacks of fixing a balky computer by dropping it out of a second-storey window.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at May 21, 2016 01:56 AM (zKSco)
***
'Percussive maintenance,' we call it at work. Entails taking a rubber mallet to the malfunctioning component of the robot.

Not always effective, but always satisfying to the tech who's spent half an hour trying to decipher the output from the diagnostic program.

That and the fact my intern is back so I'm not tied to all my usual working hours. Cheers!

Now you've made me want to do a shot of tequila. Where is BC to join in?

Posted by: Farmer at May 21, 2016 02:01 AM (o/90i)

390
Loved the bass video. I used to play a bit back in my younger days but I have a feeling that, even at my best, I would've gotten lost playing left handed and upside down.

The video of Koreans drinking black label Jack was amusing. I always thought they were notorious drinkers but I guess not these folks. I haven't drank Jack in several years and now mostly stick to Bulliet bourbon. My favorite, when I can get it, is Rebbeca Creek from Texas. It's not officially called bourbon but it's probably the smoothest (non)bourbon I've ever had. I never even mix it and can easily drink it neat. Next time I go to DFW, I'm loading up a good supply!

Yes, I know that Jack is Tennessee whiskey not bourbon but the two are pretty closely related. And while I don't dislike Jack (it used to be my go to brand), I think it's over-rated.

Her father saw the aftermath, cursed the doctors in three languages, and took her home, Bought her and her brother a farm, way the hell out of town, and she was fine.

I even met her when I was a very small child, and remember it vaguely - she was the oldest person I'd ever seen, and I was sort of scared at first, but she was so gentle and funny I loosened right up.

(Her brother was a bit odd - a business genius, but he HAD to play croquet every Sunday morning, no matter what. My grandmother told me he would take a broom to the snow, even, to clear a space for play.)

395
Now you've made me want to do a shot of tequila. Where is BC to join in?
Posted by: Farmer
-------------------
Don't summon that shithead!
He'll be pouring that Fireball crap!
Fucker got me sick one night...

("celebrating" making it one more year being 6' on this side of the turf)

Posted by: Chi at May 21, 2016 02:05 AM (ewTXf)

396
Palpatine, oh yeah. ECT tends to do one of two things to people: it helps them out for a bit... or fries their brain to a crisp and leaves them even more mentally confused.

Back when I was working at Metropolitan State Hospital, I got to hear of an experiment that somehow got approved by the State where several 'hopeless' patience were administered ECT constantly, a few times a day, for weeks at a time. By the end of the 'experiment' they were all so drooling, helpless and utterly non-funcitonal, they may as well have all been made to stay 2 years old forever. Just sad.

I've mentioned before on here, had a failing hard drive that I managed to get to spin up one last time for copying... by slapping the side of the computer box.

And the printer that I "repaired" by dropping from a height of a couple of inches. Twice. (Still works!)

Of course, my first computer repair, honest to God, involved a five-pound rubber mallet. But that was just to crack open the external ac/dc transformer case to change a fuse, so it doesn't really count, but it sounds great.

Electroshock therapy, no matter how much better it's done now, just makes me think LSD therapy would be preferable - if you're going to reboot a brain.

God bless Publius's mom & give him & his family strength & wisdom.

And with that overlong comment, I'm dragging my percussively maintained brain to bed.

402
395 Now you've made me want to do a shot of tequila. Where is BC to join in?
Posted by: Farmer
-------------------
Don't summon that shithead!
He'll be pouring that Fireball crap!
Fucker got me sick one night...

("celebrating" making it one more year being 6' on this side of the turf)

Posted by: Chi at May 21, 2016 02:05 AM (ewTXf)

While in Vegas, there was a deal where you could buy two 24-oz cans of beer and get an airplane bottle of hooch as a bonus, so I got a bonus bottle of Fireball. That shit tastes exactly like Lavoris, the mouthwash. I can't believe people drink that stuff willingly.

And frohliche geburtstag, mein freund!!!

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 02:11 AM (EzgxV)

403You could mention my whereabouts since Tuesday night and our activities from Wednesday morning. If you're thinking of mentioning other "its", it depends on what they are.

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 02:03 AM (EzgxV)

I was happy to host Cthulhu and his non-tentacled better half in Vegas. He was as tentacle-rific in person as he is on the HQ.

There was also one very old, 'hopeless' patient in the ward I worked in... who, believe it or not, had what looked like two *audio jacks* in his forehead.

Nurses and other treatment professionals had asked so many times, some hospital historians went looking for answers as to why he had this stuff in his head. Turns out that in the early 1960s, this patient's brother had signed him up for so much ECT, the doctors *had the jacks inserted* to make it easier/less time consuming to plug him in. Just, oh good grief!!

406
Often pondered, if I stood astride the state line, with a beer in the 18yo-state hand, would I be breaking the law? And pondered the arbitrariness of age limits.
Posted by: the variable mindful webworker at May 21, 2016 01:54 AM

That's interesting. Wondering if we ever crossed paths unknowingly.

This would have been ca. 1973-77 as I was working summer jobs while in college when I ran up to S. Beloit..

Yeah, I'm old.

Posted by: Farmer at May 21, 2016 02:15 AM (o/90i)

407
Wasn't Seth Meyers the guy who was nice to Breitbart's kid? Total progressive statist douchebag, but did a call with voices and impressions to the son of someone he vehemently disagreed with on a TV program?
Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 12:52 AM (EzgxV)

That was Seth McFarlane of "Family Guy". Story was that they both were on Maher's show, and Breitbart was kind of bummed because he was thinking that McFarlane would do some of the voices from the show while debating him, and Breitbart's son was a huge fan of the show. As they were waiting to go "live", McFarlane produced a flask and asked Andrew if he wanted a hit, and after that Andrew knew they would be okay. After the show, McFarlane called Andrew's son who had some friends over, and did all the voices while talking to him.

After that, he and McFarlane were pretty good friends.

IIRC, McFarlane and Rush are friends, and Rush has appeared on Family Guy.

Was her brother - Mikhail - more or less off his rocker? Again, probably, although these days they'd say 'he's on the autism spectrum' or some such nonsense.

I think genuine mental illness is very rare - there is sufficient variety in the human species to suggest to me that differences in cognition and processing are to be expected, and might even prove useful to the species as a whole.

416
403 You could mention my whereabouts since Tuesday night and our activities from Wednesday morning. If you're thinking of mentioning other "its", it depends on what they are.

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 02:03 AM (EzgxV)

I was happy to host Cthulhu and his non-tentacled better half in Vegas. He was as tentacle-rific in person as he is on the HQ.

Posted by: The Political Hat at May 21, 2016 02:12 AM (vBeA5)

We MoMe'd with Hat in Vegas. He looks suspiciously like his avatar on his blog, except with a different hat. As someone who is conspicuous by his linkage of commentary to current events, he has an amazing breadth and depth of awareness of current affairs. He knows the good places to find grub in the non-tourist areas of Vegas -- lunch was delish.

We are somewhat concerned that our word count was >5:1 us-to-Hat. I hope that we provided some amusement in our prattle.

418
Today you're considered weird if you *don't* have some sort of psychodiagnosis.
Posted by: qdpsteve at May 21, 2016 02:24 AM (ntObR)
***
ain't that the truth, though.

A lot of my colleagues go on and on about depression, stress, anxiety, and what-have-you, and I'm tempted to remind them that these are normal conditions for any sentient being.

I like the Russians - they get it. You're depressed? Well, of course you are - that's not a medical condition, that's a normal part of life. You've got stress and anxiety? of course you do - the stakes in everyday life are so very high. But none of it means anything, brother. Have a drink and talk a while, and you'll see.

420
407 Wasn't Seth Meyers the guy who was nice to Breitbart's kid? Total progressive statist douchebag, but did a call with voices and impressions to the son of someone he vehemently disagreed with on a TV program?
Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 12:52 AM (EzgxV)

That was Seth McFarlane of "Family Guy". Story was that they both were on Maher's show, and Breitbart was kind of bummed because he was thinking that McFarlane would do some of the voices from the show while debating him, and Breitbart's son was a huge fan of the show. As they were waiting to go "live", McFarlane produced a flask and asked Andrew if he wanted a hit, and after that Andrew knew they would be okay. After the show, McFarlane called Andrew's son who had some friends over, and did all the voices while talking to him.

After that, he and McFarlane were pretty good friends.

IIRC, McFarlane and Rush are friends, and Rush has appeared on Family Guy.

You can tell how disconnected I am with popular culture -- Seth this or Seth that....but the guy who was on a show with Breitbart and did voices for Breitbart's kid.....that's a big lump of good karma I hope does well for him.

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 02:32 AM (EzgxV)

421I think genuine mental illness is very rare - there is sufficient variety in the human species to suggest to me that differences in cognition and processing are to be expected, and might even prove useful to the species as a whole.

I can't begin to tell you of all the little screwed-up things that are being dealt with.....

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 02:37 AM (EzgxV)

424
I was happy to host Cthulhu and his non-tentacled better half in Vegas. He was as tentacle-rific in person as he is on the HQ.
Posted by: The Political Hat
-----------------------
That's pretty cool.

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the BH, but I can say with authority that Cooth is the coolest nerd you'll ever meet. Don't pass up the chance, folks.
He's as good as they get.

Nope. Did a side-jaunt to Bryce Canyon, did three shows and a couple of memorable dinners, and had fun with Hat.

Posted by: cthulhu at May 21, 2016 02:40 AM (EzgxV)

427
Palpatine, yup. I blame TV to a large extent for teaching this weird philosophy too many Americans have accepted, that if they're not happy all the time, if everything isn't always coming up roses, something's wrong. No, that's just life.

And on that note... gotta call it a night all. Thanks for the great chat!! Tonight was especially fun.

I've never understand two ridiculous facts about stringed instruments: Why one uses one's non-dominant hand to do the fingering; and why the low notes are at the top.

I've never taken one second of guitar (or bass or ukulele) instruction, but every time I find myself around any stringed instrument and pick it up to goof around, I (as a right-hander) instinctively strum with my left hand and do the difficult detailed part -- pressing down the strings to make different notes -- with the right hand.

But if I do it the other way, it's much much more difficult because one doesn't have as detailed control over one's left fingers as one does the right fingers.

Furthermore, when held the "correct" way, the strings seem (from my worldview) to be in the reverse order of their "natural" order, which would be high strings toward the top, low strings toward the bottom. But again, everyone tells me that it's supposed to be low strings high, and high strings low.

I can solve both unnatural "problems" in the simplest possible way -- just hold the guitar backwards. No need for a "left-handed" guitar. No need for reversing the strings. None of that. Just take a normal guitar, and hold it in the natural way, with right hand on the neck and left hand strumming.

I always thought I was a freak until I saw an old video of Elizabeth Cotton, the 100-year-old folk singer, play guitar exactly the way I play it -- upside-down with the wrong hands, but the strings kept the way they were originally.

If she can do it, so can I!

But then we get to the HUGE problem: None of fingerings for the chords work when you're holding it upside down. Every standard bit of guitar knowledge is out the window.

I was too unschooled to devise refingered chords for upside-down guitars, but I got the idea of trying it on the much simpler ukulele.

I devised my own fingering for all the chords, and lo and behold, in 80% of the cases, the upside-down fingering was SIMPLER than the standard chord fingering. And it seemed true for guitars as well, in the less thorough attempts I did for them.

So, it's more natural, more logical, and EASIER to play a stringed instrument the upside-down way compared to the way that everyone is supposed to do it.

So then why does everyone still play guitars the normal way?

Still don't understand why.

Posted by: zombie at May 21, 2016 02:43 AM (jBuUi)

430424 I was happy to host Cthulhu and his non-tentacled better half in Vegas. He was as tentacle-rific in person as he is on the HQ.
Posted by: The Political Hat
-----------------------
That's pretty cool.

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the BH, but I can say with authority that Cooth is the coolest nerd you'll ever meet. Don't pass up the chance, folks.
He's as good as they get.

The first time I ordered, I picked "ground" by mistake, and immediately e-mailed them asking to change my order to "whole bean". I got a reply saying that it was too late, and my order had already shipped.

This time, I ordered on Monday, and didn't get shipping confirmation until Wednesday. My order finally began moving on Friday, with an estimated arrival date of Monday.

I still have enough left for Saturday and maybe Sunday, but may be forced to dip into my emergency supply of instant swill before I get the new shipment. It's my own fault; I waited too long before ordering.

Posted by: rickl at May 21, 2016 02:48 AM (sdi6R)

433
428 cthulhu, what?!? Part of the whole fun of Vegas is losing money!!

Just kidding. Okay, really gotta go now. Goodnight!

Posted by: qdpsteve at May 21, 2016 02:42 AM (ntObR)

Remember that, with fine dining, the finest experience must inevitably result in crap. And, believe me, we spent some bucks in fine dining.

435
Be well all. I suppose some sleep is required before work tomorrow.

Ya'll make me laugh and smile, TY.

ZZZZZZ

Posted by: Farmer at May 21, 2016 02:52 AM (o/90i)

436
the farthest i ever got was, 'down in the valley' on my mini franciscan.

Posted by: concrete girl at May 21, 2016 02:56 AM (ceWrl)

437
Posted by: Your Decidedly Devious Uncle Palpatine, Still Accepting Harem Applicants at May 21, 2016 02:49 AM (lutOX)
***
Had a girlfriend in the 90's who thought she was a cat in human form. I loved her dearly, but there was nothing I could do to dissuade her from her delusion.

And, yes, she'd suffered trauma - sexual trauma - as a child, and found comfort in the family cat, with whom she identified as a means of escape. That poor girl.....

446
#356 Beaver are back in the Smoke Creek Desert where they were shot out 100 years ago...and they aren't really a nuisance there as they provide water impoundment for all sorts of critters including fish which amazes me.